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Epidemiology of Pain in Cancer

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Cancer Pain

Abstract

Pain is one of the most common and feared symptoms in patients with cancer, yet the exact number of cancer patients who experience pain is difficult to ascertain. Studies vary widely in the ways they define pain, the populations they study, and the tools they use to measure this complex symptom. These differences can make it difficult to accurately combine results across studies and to generalise their findings.

This chapter gives an overview of some of the challenges in describing the epidemiology of cancer pain and presents a systematic literature review to identify the prevalence of pain in different cancer groups. The weighted mean prevalence of pain in mixed- and early-stage cancer is reported as 45.6 % (range 21.4–84.1 %). The patient-reported weighted mean prevalence of pain in advanced or metastatic cancer is identified as 73.9 % (range 53–100 %). The prevalence across different tumour groups is also discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This chapter is based upon a chapter published previously elsewhere [60]. Professor Irene J. Higginson is a National Institute of Health Research senior investigator. Dr. Thomas R. Osborne is funded by King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Myeloma UK.

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  1. Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation, Cicely Saunders Institute, King’s College London, London, UK

    Irene J. Higginson BMedSci, BMBS, PhD, Fliss E. M. Murtagh PhD, MSc, MRCGP, MBBS & Thomas R. Osborne MA, MBBS

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  1. Irene J. Higginson BMedSci, BMBS, PhD
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  2. Fliss E. M. Murtagh PhD, MSc, MRCGP, MBBS
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  3. Thomas R. Osborne MA, MBBS
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Correspondence to Thomas R. Osborne MA, MBBS .

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  1. Analgesics & Pain Research Ltd, Beckenham, United Kingdom

    Magdi Hanna

  2. Hildegard Hospiz, Basel, Switzerland

    Zbigniew (Ben) Zylicz

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Higginson, I.J., Murtagh, F.E.M., Osborne, T.R. (2013). Epidemiology of Pain in Cancer. In: Hanna, M., Zylicz, Z. (eds) Cancer Pain. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-230-8_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-230-8_2

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